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“I think [Obama’s] saying it right,” Brown said. “The public knows Republicans are just using this. Clearly it’s just a political thing for them.”

Like Brown, several Democrats echoed the argument that Obama and the administration have been trumpeting especially loudly in recent weeks — that domestic oil and gas drilling has risen under his watch.

Republican and industry critics have been quick to pounce on that claim, arguing that production on state and private lands is really driving the increase in production. They say any rise on federal lands and waters is based on decisions made years before Obama took office.

“The president actually lobbied against the Keystone, lobbied the Senate against the pipeline to the point that he had to stop Democrats who may have wanted to vote for it, from doing it,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said. “President Obama has been a complete obstructionist on that and his energy policy, if you want to call it a policy, has in my opinion actually contributed and caused the pain at the pump, and he should be held fully responsible for what the American public is paying for gasoline.”

Several vulnerable Democrats — such as McCaskill, Brown, Stabenow and Tester — were front and center during a White House-backed effort last spring to take away $21 billion in oil and gas industry tax incentives.

At Obama’s behest, Senate Democrats plan to hold another vote soon on repealing those incentives, even though they would almost certainly fall short of meeting the 60-vote threshold for passage. In May, they fell eight votes short.

Obama is getting some rhetorical help on gasoline prices from at least one Democrat who doesn’t side with him on taking away those industry incentives.

“I don’t agree with the president’s energy policies, I don’t think he has been respectful of the oil and gas industry, I don’t think he fully understands their strength and importance in the country,” Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) said. “Having said that, President Obama is not personally responsible for high gas prices.”

Landrieu said neither party has done what should have been done for many years to wean the U.S. off foreign oil.

“So the Republicans are just using these high gas prices as a club to beat up the president,” she said.

“If they were so concerned about bringing down gasoline prices for the consumers, they should have been front and center on helping us build a stronger automobile industry in the country,” she added. “But where were they? Hiding under their desks screaming and yelling with Mitt Romney, leading the charge that Michigan, you know, should just go the way of the market.”

Talia Buford contributed to this report.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 5:32 a.m. on March 14, 2012.

Readers' Comments (39)

Unfortunately, emphasis on “new green” energy sources such as wind, solar and other unproven alternative energies has received the lion's share of deficit-growing federal government subsidies while traditional petroleum, hydro-power, coal and nuclear sources that reliably provide 95% of American energy have been demonized.

Connect the following Obama administration decision points, and draw your own conclusions about the direction of Obama’s energy policies: Obama’s EPA is pushing hard to regulate “fracking” that expands natural gas production. Over 8,000 U.S. wells have been “fracked.” Now U.S. natural gas reserves have grown by about 11% from the previous year. This makes American the world leader in natural gas reserves. President Obama, Senate Leader Harry Reid and their U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have conspired to sabotage the licensing for the Yucca Mountain Nevada nuclear waste disposal site. The Yucca Mountain facility would have been the nation’s first nuclear waste facility. Obama’s pandering to the green eco-establishment has twice declined the Trans Canadian XL Keystone Pipeline that would bring Canadian-produced oil to U.S. refineries, provide thousands of new permanent jobs, and diminish our dependency on foreign oil. In 2011 offshore oil/gas production was down 11%. 2011 onshore oil/gas production was down 16%. $535 million to Solyndra Solar, $529 million to Fisker Auto, and billions more in U.S. subsidies to failed “green energy” ventures like the Chevy Volt car, First Solar, Vesta wind turbines and Tesla Auto are only a few of last year’s costly green misadventures. Obama’s EPA is pressing to expand costly, job-killing air pollution regulations on the fundamental American energy providers of coal-fired power plants and fuel refineries. Sec. Chu has said that gasoline prices must rise to European price levels in order to make wind and solar alternatives feasible. U.K. petrol is twice the price of U.S. gasoline today. Chu has tried to clarify such statements in recent congressional oversight hearings. U.S. gas prices have doubled during Obama’s first term.

This is an issue of the manipulation of the supply of gasoline to keep prices artificially high, not an issue of any shortages of oil.

Historically, the price of gasoline follows the price of oil. That is not happening today. Why?

2 Reasons:

1. Refineries have been shut down in this country that affect 5% of our available gasoline.

2. Gasoline is being refined in this country and exported outside of this country.

Historically, as I mentioned, the price of gasoline has a relationship with the price of oil, but that is not happening today, as the supply of gasoline is being manipulated and as a result, pricing for gasoline is kept artificially high. This issue is not that we have a shortage of oil. The truth is that we have cut our consumption of gasoline and oil considerably and as a result big oil is manipulating the supply of gasoline which is what is giving us this higher pricing.

Both political parties should be going after big oil for manipulating the supply of gasoline which is what is giving us this high pricing. This isn't a political game, this is an issue of responsibility to the people of this country and to criticize another party for this pricing is wrong and completely irresponsible.

The $110,000 PER CAR Obama funded Fisker UTTERLY FAILED when tested by Consumer Reports and HAD TO BE RETURNED AFTER BEING DRIVEN ONYLY 100 MILES. That FAILURE is the POSTER CHILD for Obama's legacy along with Solyendra and $5.00 gas. That is why the rats are fleeing the sinking ship. What is Obama going to campaign on, I got all the college girls free contraceptives and abortions?

These Dems are a bunch of hypocrites. Imagine where gas (how high) prices would be if Obama had passed cap and trade (tax) and how they would be running for cover. They just talk anti-carbon whe fuel prices are low, but disavow or are silent when they're high. And where are all of the liberal environmentalists right now screaming for even higher fuel prices, like Robert 'Dumb Ass' Redford. They're hiding like the cowards they are!

The most persistent cry of the Dems over the last 3 decades, from the days of Carter, NO MORE DRILLING! They and their leader, Obama, have had themselves joined to the hip of the environmental movement and careless less about the majority of the public trying to make ends meet. Dems want energy prices to match the socialist paradise of the European Union, which is tanking weekly. They now own this issue of high gasoline prices at the pump and can't dodge the consequences of payback in November!

"“We’re not focused on the president at all,” Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said Tuesday. “We’re focused on who I am, what I’ve done and what we can do to create jobs and move the economy forward.”

For the first two years of this administration you focused on the Obama backside and did nothing about jobs so now you want to tell everyone that it is not your fault. Just like your leader. A demo-crat is n extreme radical that is dangerous to this country. If Ob ama wins a second term you will be on your knees once again to this radical incompetent who heads your party.

Will Darren, Politico and the rest of the MSM be able to convince the American people that what they told them four years ago was false?

ROFLOL!!!!!!

'Little Obama Can Do' About Gas Prices? Four Years Ago, Bush's Move to Drill Dropped Barrel Price -- And Media Covered It Up

By Tom Blumer | March 14, 2012 | 12:45

The New York Times told us about three weeks ago that "there's little President Obama" can do about the current pump price of gas. Since then, it has become a well-established media meme. Poor guy.

Well, not really. Four years ago, another U.S. president did something which caused the barrel price of oil to drop by over $6, and the press spent the rest of the day trying to pretend that the drop had nothing to do with his actions -- and almost succeeded. What follows is from my related NewsBusters post on July 15, 2008 ("Oil Drops Over $6 a Barrel; I Wonder Why?"):

I suggested, based on the quoted support above, that there were two reasons for the price drop It looks like we got some of the price reduction for two reasons besides Bernanke:

First, George Bush carried out his half of the "Drill Now" deal by issuing an Executive Order repealing his father's previous order against offshore drilling.

Bush then showed he was serious by forcefully arguing his case at his press conference today.

Economist Walter Williams also predicted the drop a few days before it occurred: "I guarantee you we would begin to see a reduction in today’s prices even if it (enabling more drilling) took five to 10 years for us to get the first barrel."

So part of the reason the press can pretend that there's little President Obama can do about gas prices is that they almost completely covered it up when another president did something which worked.

A123 Systems, laid off 125 employees late last year. DOE gave A123 $249.1 million to help launch two battery-manufacturing plants in Michigan

Tesla Motors, which appeared in disarray with layoffs and CEO turnover received $465 million loan guarantee from DOE

Kansas City-based Smith Electric Vehicles was a floundering British company that built electric trucks, losing 80 percent of its stock price (on the London Stock Exchange) in less than a day and losing more than 97 percent of its value in a year. But then the company set up shop in the U.S., received $32 million in seed money from DOE, and now is bailing out its U.K. counterpart.

North American operations of Spanish company Iberdrola Renewables will lay off about 5 percent of its U.S. workforce, with about half the cuts coming at its U.S. headquarters in Portland.

First Solar, which announced in December it would eliminate 100 positions, despite having received at least $51 million in incentives from state and local government in Arizona.

Just 10 days ago (04 Mar 12), GM announced a halt in production of the Volt. Poor sales. This, in spite of still being $25.5 billion short of repayment of bailout monies. 1300 people laid off.

At a recent event, Obama said taxpayers could save $8,000 a year on gas. WHAT??? I don't know anyone who spends this much a year, unless they have a private plane.

When President Barack Obama first took office, he promised “an unprecedented level of openness.” Instead, we have seen an unprecedented level of obstruction regarding the Freedom of Information Act. Obamacare was decided behind closed doors. We'll know what's in the plan AFTER it is approved (after it's too late).

Our campaigner-in-chief is no president. He, Pelosi, Reid, Boxer, Kerry and the other liberals, along with the biased media, Soros, Unions, Acorn, etc., based the entire 2008 campaign on lies. They have no problem governing against the will of the American people. I'll never vote for another democrat.

All states should require a photo ID for voters.

I think govenors make better presidents than senators.

Obama spent his time as a Junior Senator "running for President". He has spent his time as President "running for President". He simply will not do his job.

All too true. Obama could get prices down if he wanted to just as Bush did time and again, not that liberal media gave Bush credit anymore than they'll give Obama any flak. The question is why doesn't Obama want lower prices - they've been high since the BP spill, for crying out loud! Domestic oil means jobs, a growing economy, and lower cost of living. Especially after the exposure a couple months ago of Obama's domestic oil exports in the past three years (found at CNN Money) at a time that our domestic gas prices are so high, one must wonder what Obama's really going for. If he cared about the economy or jobs, he'd lift the oil-drilling moratorium, accept Keystone, and allow domestic oil to be used domestically. Prices would plummet, we would have spending money! If on the other hand, this is about the environment as he'd like you to believe, why do you believe we're saving the environment when we're instead buying oil from distant, hostile, human-rights violating countries with less stringent environmental standards then our own? That doesn't fly. It must be the ensuing economic hardship driving citizens of the United States to turn to their government instead of relying on themselves. He's buying votes with dependency for his reelection, after which we'll make a swift and seemingly natural transition to socialism despite the failure of socialism everywhere it's been tried. Do you really want to follow in the footsteps of the EU? Our debt per capita exceeds that of Greece already, and our deficit is greater than our GDP. We can't afford more of Obama.

If this is news, consider your sources. You've got to read both sides because both sides leave stuff out.

You’ve gotta watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... to see President Obama explain why his energy plan will cause electricity rates to “skyrocket”. What will tripling or quadrupling the cost of electricity do to families, schools, hospitals, businesses?

Per CBO, the federal government spent $24 billion on energy subsidies in 2011. The fossil fuel industry received $2.5 billion in tax breaks, while "green" energy got $16 billion in tax breaks and direct grants. The biggest single recipient was ethanol at $6 billion, even though it has been so completely debunked as a renewable energy source that even Al Gore and Barbara Boxer no longer support it. But brain dead Obama threw them another $6 billion.